Samuel Gamble Bayne
Samuel Gamble Bayne (1844 - 1924) was a remarkable man who made his fortune in America. A businessman, international traveller, philanthropist, international cricketer, artist, cartoonist and author; he had a fascinating life. Born in Ramelton, Samuel was the son of a Presbyterian merchant. The Bayne family lived on the Mall, by the bridge (Bayne’s Lane) where they ran a grocers shop. He attended the Belfast Academical Institution and graduated from Queen's University Belfast. He went into the linen business with his cousin William Rea at Belfast, whose flax products were doing good business because of the cut-off of cotton during the US Civil War.
Aged twenty-five in 1869, Samuel decided to travel to America to seek his fortune - the intention being to plant cotton. Instead he invested in the Sugar House oil well near Titusville, Pa., the second oil well drilled in America. Later, he organized an oil well supply corporation which developed into the National Supply Company, and then the First National Bank of Bradford, Pa. In 1883, he founded the Seaboard National Bank (now JP Morgan Chase) in New York, and became its Chairman of the Board in 1922. He was also one of the original directors of the Bankers' Trust Company and the Columbia Trust Company. Samuel accumulated enough wealth to be described as a billionaire by the end of the 1800’s.
Aged twenty-five in 1869, Samuel decided to travel to America to seek his fortune - the intention being to plant cotton. Instead he invested in the Sugar House oil well near Titusville, Pa., the second oil well drilled in America. Later, he organized an oil well supply corporation which developed into the National Supply Company, and then the First National Bank of Bradford, Pa. In 1883, he founded the Seaboard National Bank (now JP Morgan Chase) in New York, and became its Chairman of the Board in 1922. He was also one of the original directors of the Bankers' Trust Company and the Columbia Trust Company. Samuel accumulated enough wealth to be described as a billionaire by the end of the 1800’s.
A man of sound education, a broad outlook and liberal culture, he was able to glean something from life besides dollars. Samuel authored several books on subjects as diverse as astronomy and travel in Scandinavia. A philanthropist and patron of the arts and professions, his story, told in his memoir ‘Derricks of Destiny’, is an extraordinary tale of an industrious Irishman living the ‘American Dream’.
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The magnificent 19th century Bayne residence designed by famous architect Frank Freeman, at the southeast corner of Riverside Drive and West 108 St., Manhattan, New York.
The Books of Samuel Gamble Bayne
Click on book covers to read the books
The Pith of Astronomy
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Quicksteps through Scandanavia
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Derricks of Destiny
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On an Irish Jaunting Car
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A Fantasy of Mediterranean Travel
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